About Me

We are trying to grow Breadfruit Trees and other fruit trees like PawPaw, Banana, Mango or Papaya in Zambia in order to provide them to Schools and poor households. We want to end chronic hunger and malnutrition among children and other vulnerable people in Zambia.
We are planting trees, fruits and veggies and take care of a permanent water supply for our community.
Also we try to create a self-sustaining community and offer the perspective of Jobs and work to the less fortunate, and especially to women. We are building a sewing room to teach women how to tailor clothes. We also build a library to teach children and adults how to ready to fight illiteracy.
Education is the key. That is why we are helping families to pay for their children's School fees andtry to find Sponsors for them.
We are an ambitious project, located in the Kazungula District in Zambia.
Numerous volunteers help collecting seeds for the nursery and watering the seedlings, build the sewing room and library and work hard to Change people's lives.
If you feel you want to support our project and kindly donate, here are our bank account details:
Account Holder: Juliane Friedrich
Bank: comdirect
Location: Quickborn, Germany
IBAN: DE30 2004 1144 0752 5074 00
SWIFT/BIC: COBADEHD044
Reference: Planting A Future, Purpose, your name
(purpose: donation, sponsorship, membership)
PayPal:
Account Holder: Juliane Friedrich
Location: Berlin, Germany
Email: plantingafuture@hotmail.com
Reference: Planting A Future, Purpose, your name
(purpose: donation, sponsorship, membership)
If you have any questions please feel free to contact us on:
plantingafuture@gmail.com
Also join us on Facebook:
http://www.facebook.com/plantingafuturezambia
...and on Instagarm:
http://www.instagram.com/plantingafuture

It all began with a picture on Intsagram. It is incredible what can happen, using social networks…you meet the most amazing people. So it happened for PAF 🙂

Lloyd sent me this picture of our Planting A Future football team, the PAF Warriors…a team of Chinkonono boys.

The Planting A Future Warriors 🙂

I uploaded it on Instagram and the way it works is that you use hashtags so other people can find your pics related to certain topics. One of my hashtags must have worked out because the picture got some likes and comments. One of them was from Andrew from Melbourne in Australia.

We started talking about the conditions of our team and about how hard it is to equip the village kids with sporting uniforms and balls. Andrew said he would love to help us. And so he did…only a few days after the Instagram post I received an email from Andrew. He said he was working his way through the warehouse and found some jerseys he would love to send over to Zambia.

What Andrew planned to send us…so awesome 🙂

I was so happy when I heard that. To be honest I expected maybe around 15 jerseys, which would have been great already. But the next email Andrew sent me made me feel a bit dizzy…in total he found 60 sets of sporting uniforms (jerseys, shorts, socks) in different colours and sizes. Surreal 😉

Andrew 🙂

He also talked about PAF to his mom Niki, who is a primary school teacher. She talked to people in her school and managed to get some school books and educational posters of numbers, alphabet, colours etc. for our village school.

Niki 🙂

All those things were gathered and packed (in 3 big boxes) within only a few days and then shipped through DHL…express shipping! That was new. Usually when we send stuff it takes ages to get there. So everyone was very excited. I remember Andrew texting me he wished he could pack himself into one of the boxes to be there when they will be opened 😉

DHL packing the boxes…sooooo exciting!

And the best thing about it was that Lloyd and the villagers didn’t know anything. We planned it as a huge surprise. I only told Lloyd that 3 boxes will be in Kalomo soon 😉

After a little struggle with Zambian customs at Lusaka airport (it would have been too good to be true if all worked out like planned), which Andrew could solve, Lloyd could finally pick up the boxes on Monday and take them to the village.

I guess pictures and videos say more than a thousand words. So just check them and see for yourself!

Anticipation…excitement is rising for our PAF community! Yay to Niki and Andrew!! 🙂

Those little curious guys 🙂

Huge event 😉

Looking fly, Pt. I

Our PAF Warriors

Looking fly, Pt. II

This is what Lloyd said when he got back to Chinkonono and opened the boxes with the kids around:

“Imagine playing football in one pair of jerseys for the whole year and sometimes playing in birthday suits when some players opt to wear the jersey to church or wedding ceremony?This was the scenario at PAF Warriors until one of our supporters gave us a surprise. It was such a surprise as the whole thing from planning to shipment was done in such mystery that I kept guessing what was in store for us. Julie and Andrew did it in such a way that they deserve an Oscar for the “Mystery of the Year Awards”. 😉

This beautiful mystery kept the village on the edge…personally I thought it was books for the library. One woman thought it was a bale of chitenge materials while headman Chinkonono thought it was a batch of breadfruit trees.The mystery didn’t end there as kids competed with each other guessing on what the parcels contained. Most of the kids thought it was kids clothes and toys and the big boys thought it was a pair of jerseys.While Julie kept on keeping me on the edge of the seat by refusing to reveal the contents. This made me so anxious to get the parcels and take them to the village so that I could see what was inside.

So happy when Lloyd finally got the boxes 🙂

The day we were to open the boxes was dramatic as kids came to my house at 06am just not to miss the excitement. 😉We couldn’t do it at home due to the number of people anticipating to see the contents hence we took the boxes to PAF center which has a lot of space.We did a quiz before opening by asking kids what was in the boxes. As you may guess the general response was sweets, clothes and toys.There was a mixture of joy and horror when the boxes were opened. Some of the real young kids sighed with dismay while girls and boys, men and women cheered loudly. It was obvious they had the last laugh.

And what was in the boxes? While while…sixty pairs of brand new jerseys, shorts and socks. The village had never seen such a thing before. It was such a joy to touch what they only saw on TV.

And now their own village team was to have a full soccer kit like premier league soccer teams clubs and two brand new balls plus a soccer ball pump. But also our ladies were happy as they were given the white jerseys for the new-formed netball team, the PAF Eaglets.It was such a beautiful day indeed.

Gratitude to Andrew and Niki Skoullos for donating the kits and school materials. This will motivate the boys who bring so much happiness in Chinkonono. Gestures of love like this make it a beautiful world to live in. Indeed its love without boarders from Australia.

Thanks Andy and Niki. Thanks for being part of the light PAF is bringing to Chinkonono village.”

Andrew…you guys really brought so much joy into our hearts! We have no words to express how grateful we are! Those kids, boys and girls, love sports. It is their way of releasing stress and getting their minds off things. And now they do have proper uniforms to play football or netball and can even compete with other teams!

Also the school materials will make our village school so much nicer and more colourful. Our kids will love it and that way be even more motivated to learn and study 🙂 Thank you so much, Niki!

Andrew sent me a little text as well. Check what he says:

“Even in rainy, cold Melbourne, Australia – our hearts are warmed by the work Planting A Future does. Through the power of the internet I was lucky enough to come in contact with Julie and she helped us share what we can with the people in Chinkonono! My mum Niki, being a primary school teacher was able to collect story books, educational posters and stationary which I hope Lloyd and the teachers will put to good use! The sporting uniforms I was able to get a hold through work and I thought it would be special to be able to provide uniforms and equipment for those who love sport just like me! I would love to wish Planting a Future the best of luck with their campaign, I’ll be supporting you guys all the way! To Julie, Lloyd and all the people in Kalomo and Chinokono village – we’re sending you our love! ”

Twalumba kapati! Zikomo! Thank you! Danke! We are sending back all our love to you, Niki and Andrew!

You guys are world changers and it lifts our spirits as well that there is generous people like you out there in this world who just jump in and help us without thinking twice! We are humbled indeed! That is Love Without Boarders!

Psychologists say adolescence is the period of storm and stress. But we at PAF say it is the stage of discover. 😉

Yes, the extra energies are evident in our daughters and sons…and these, if not channelled or harnessed properly, can an individual’s adult life. As in all communities our youths are exposed to negative vices like drug abuse, alcoholism, gambling, casual sex and violence.

As a group we have endeavoured to bring the youths together by sponsoring a football team. This team is made of boys from Chinkonono. Most of them are kids of PAF members.

The Planting A Future Warriors 🙂

Check out how engaged those boys are in practice, even more so the spectators on the side 😉

We use whatever means possible to get balls, jerseys and whistles. The boys don’t have boots or socks but are very happy to fly our PAF banners high 😀

Warriors in action 😀

Our Warriors already throw big shadows 😉

Finally…Practice 🙂

Throw in the ball, man! 😉

Whenever the team is playing the whole village comes to a standstill due to their mesmerizing soccer skills, coupled by their boyish playfulness.

Our supporters 😉 Go Warriors!

And hey, despite dismal results at times, these boys bring so much joy in our hearts and help us distract from our daily struggles once in a while.

Whoop Whoop! We do have a guest blogger here today. I will only play translator, the following post will be in the German original version and my English translation.

Well…my friend Nora had to listen to me rambling about Planting A Future a lot in the past weeks. She has been patient with me and also is one of our supporting members. Thanks, Nora 🙂 Anyways…I also told her about Moringa and its positive effects and all the essential nutrients. As you might remember I did pack some sample bags of original PAF Moringa powder a while ago to hand out to people who are interested in trying it.

Nora agreed to give it a try and write down her experiences with Moringa powder. Check that:

I always felt a bit tired and weak, especially after a long day at work. This is when my friend Jule told me about Moringa and its positive effects. I am not really a person who eats a lot of veggies and fruits. Also i don’t want to swallow some useless pills all the time to get more vitamins. So the idea of just mixing a glass of water with a teaspoon of moringa powder everyday sounded tempting to me, especially looking at all the natural ingredients and nutrients. Said and done. I have to admit it does smell like somebody was just mowing the lawn. Well…organic for sure. Adding some water to mix it….but the powder wouldn’t really dissolve in water.

Just one glass of Moringa water or juice a day keeps the doctor away 😉

Today I was trying to improve the recipe a little bit by literally spicing it up. I tried to add a bit of lemon juice and found this mix pretty good. Only the “problem” of the powder not dissolving in water I still couldn’t solve. But well…making the best of it. Why wasting lots of money on this special whitening toothpaste? Moringa does the deal as well 😉

Today I tried to mix the moringa powder with multivitamin juice. From now on I will always drink it like that – my absolute favourite mix. Try it! It does look a bit weird. But believe me it tastes great.

Nowadays Jule and me try to go running regularly to keep fit. Today has been one of those days. And hey, I managed almost 6km. If you had told me this a few weeks ago I wouldn’t have believed it. Since my self-experiment worked well in the inside I thought I could apply moringa on the outside as well. So I mixed some moringa powder and cold water to a Moringa poultice. It is very important that its consistency is like a smooth paste. (Luckily we did try all that at Jule’s place and I didn’t have to clean up afterwards.) It truely was an interesting event to apply the cooling poultice to my face right after coming back from running. After the poultice had dried a bit a real pleasant peeling effect was noticeable (see…what seems a bit disturbing while drinking the powder definitely has its advantages here now!). After a few minutes I simply washed it of with clear water. And the result is magnificent: the skin is smooth like a baby’s buttocks, silk-soft and juvenilely fresh 😉

Hello 😉

Nora putting on her Moringa poultice

Good for your skin and Smiles 🙂

Well…you can see…Moringa is fun! Thank you Nora for writing that little diary! 🙂

If any of you guys is interested in trying some 100% organic Moringa powder, grown on our very own Planting A Future plantations, please feel free contact us and we will arrange things.

The 2016 Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, have just begun. Almost 3 weeks of sports, the finest athletes in the world compete for the golden medals. Millions of people watching all sorts of sports on TV or live in Rio.

Keep your fingers crossed for the Zambian athletes at the 2016 Olympics in Rio de Janeiro

We are happy to see that 7 athlets made it to Team Zambia at the Olympics this year. They will compete in 4 different sports.

Hah…you think with all those struggles and lack of water and work things are all serious in Chinkonono? Well…we do distract ourselves. Just look at that! Meet the PAF Warriors!!!

The Planting A Future Warriors 🙂

All the boys live in the village and train regularly. Most of them don’t even have football shoes and we chronically lack footballs. But hey…this is Africa and we make the best of what we have. And you guy know just HOW much Africans love football. 😉

What a squad 😀

ready for rumble

those boys are all from Chinkonono

Maybe some day soon we will be equipped with proper uniforms or shoes…that would be awesome. 😉

But as long as the ball is round we are fine and enjoy our matches and practices.